Decoy system or other representation of an animal

Abstract

A decoy or other representation of an animal comprising a substantially planar body cut from a sheet of weatherproof or weather resistant material, the body having a periphery corresponding to the animal, the body having at least a first side having a first printed graphic comprising a photo-realistic image corresponding to one side of the animal, typically also a second side having a second graphic comprising to a photo-realistic image corresponding to an opposite side of the animal. A stake having a first end configured to be removably secured to the body and a second end configured to be secured into the earth may be provided. The body preferably has a relatively low-glare, matte finish coating over the first and second graphics.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A system for providing a decoy or other representation of an animal, the system comprising:
 at least one substantially planar body cut from a sheet of weather resistant or weatherproof material, the body having a periphery corresponding to the animal and a first side having a first printed graphic comprising a photo-realistic side view image corresponding to one side of the animal and a second side having a second graphic comprising to a photo-realistic side view image corresponding to an opposite side of the animal, the body having one or more interfaces for securing the body to an object;   at least one stake having a first end configured to be removably secured to the body at the interfaces and a second end configured to be secured into earth.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first graphic and the second graphic consist essentially of mirror images of one another. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially planar body comprises PVC or HDPE. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stake comprises metal. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each side of the body has a matte finish coating over the respective image. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the matte finish coating has a gloss reading using a ASTM D523 test in the range of less than 15 Gloss Units on a scale of 100. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the matte finish coating has a gloss reading of less than 12 Gloss Units on a scale of 100. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the matte finish coating has a gloss reading of less than 10 Gloss Units on a scale of 100. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the body comprises a product made by a process comprising the steps of:
 a) printing the first graphic image on a first side of the sheet of and the second graphic image on a second side of the sheet;   b) applying the matte finish coating over the first graphic image and the second graphic image   c) curing the matte finish coating; and   d) cutting the body from the sheet.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stake comprises a form cut from a substantially planar sheet of metal, and the one or more body interfaces comprise a bottom slot for receiving the stake, a top slot for receiving the stake, and one or more holes configured to align with one or more holes in the stake adjacent the first end with the stake threaded through the top slot and bottom slot, the system further comprising one or more fasteners configured to secure the body to the stake through the one or more holes in the body and the stake. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stake comprises a protrusion proximal the second end sized to receive a distal force applied by a foot of a user. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the stake comprises one or more cutout areas in a longitudinal portion of the stake, in the protrusion, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a plurality of hunting decoys, each decoy comprising one substantially planar body and one stake. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of decoys comprises at least a first body and a second body, wherein the first body differs from the second body with respect to a characteristic selected from the group consisting of: pose, gender, coloration, viewing angle, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the animal represented by each of the plurality of decoys is selected from the group consisting of: ducks, geese, and turkeys. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the body of each of the plurality of decoys consists of HDPE, and each side of the body has a matte finish coating over the respective image, the matte finish coating having a gloss reading using a ASTM D523 test of less than 15 Gloss Units on a scale of 100. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein:
 each body comprises a product made by a process comprising the steps of:
 a) printing the first graphic image on a first side of the sheet and the second graphic image on a second side of the sheet; 
 b) applying the matte finish coating over the first graphic image and the second graphic image 
 c) curing the matte finish coating; and 
 d) cutting the body from the sheet; 
   each stake comprises a form cut from a substantially planar sheet of metal;   the one or more body interfaces comprises at least a bottom slot for receiving the stake, a top slot for receiving the stake, and one or more holes configured to align with one or more holes in the stake adjacent the first end with the stake threaded through the top slot and bottom slot; and   each decoy further comprises one or more fasteners sized to secure the body to the stake through the one or more holes in the stake and the body.   
     
     
         18 . A representation of an animal configured to be fixed to an object, the representation comprising:
 a substantially planar body cut from a sheet of weatherproof or weather resistant material, the body having a periphery corresponding to the animal, the body having at least a first side having a first printed graphic comprising a photo-realistic side view image corresponding to one side of the animal, a matte finish coating over the printed graphic, the matte finish coating having a gloss reading using a ASTM D523 test of less than 15 Gloss Units on a scale of 100, the body having one or more interfaces for securing the body to an object.   
     
     
         19 . The representation of  claim 18 , further comprising a member configured to be removably secured to the body at the one or more interfaces, the member configured to secure the body to the object. 
     
     
         20 . The representation of  claim 19 , wherein the object to which the representation is configured to be fixed comprises land, and the member is a stake configured to be implanted into the land.